


Dates, Darcy, and Dads Don't Mix

by heartinhand221 (Illusinia)



Series: Shake It All Off [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:15:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4541166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illusinia/pseuds/heartinhand221
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grant and Skye just want to have a normal date. Too bad Darcy needs sleep and John needs to learn the meaning of 'boundaries'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dates, Darcy, and Dads Don't Mix

They'd decided a coffee shop would be a good place to start. It wasn't dinner at a nice restaurant, but given she'd dragged him into the men's room when they met, it felt less necessary to start nice.

 

Well, to her it felt less necessary. She was pretty sure Grant would have preferred nice. He'd mentioned this one place he knew about four times.

 

Regardless, coffee was low pressure, low stress, and the least likely to result in them having a more public tryst. Or, well, it gave them the choice to go elsewhere if they wanted to. Personally, she wouldn't complain.

 

The shop was a small, local place not far from the Rising Tide- a social, economic, and political magazine that was known for its mostly unbiased dissemination of information. They tended to try to tell the stories in their entirety and it had garnered them favor among several social niches. And Skye was among its employees. It meant she knew the owner of the shop, one Bruce Banner, well enough that she also felt comfortable there.

 

Sure enough, she'd barely pulled the jacket she'd borrowed from Grant off before Bruce appeared at her side with a cup of her usual and a smile. It was Bruce's normal demeanor- calm but oddly cheerful when he wasn't being wholly sarcastic. It always surprised Skye a little when she thought about the fact that he used to be a highly respected scientist for the military. He claimed the job was too stressful though, frequently causing him to rage uncontrollably at his staff and coworkers until he finally just quit.

 

Betty claimed it was the best thing he'd ever done.

 

“I'm surprised you could wait this long for coffee,” remarked Bruce, dropping into the chair across from her once he was sure no one was at the counter waiting. “Usually you stumble in half asleep and demanding three espresso shots in pure sugar.”

 

“Hey, I did that _once_!” objected Skye with a pout as she carefully set Grant's jacket aside. “And the servers had exploded over night. It took six hours to fix.”

 

“Once this month,” countered Bruce with a smile. “I'm actually surprised you weren't here earlier. Darcy came in looking half dead and muttering about Senator Ward and some oil pipeline. It sounded important and possibly conspiratorial.”

 

“Yeah, she's working on some big story about kick-backs, forged environmental impact statements, and the lovely senator,” confirmed Skye with a nod. She'd actually been back-channel snooping for the past few hours trying to find a legal way to prove the deal was as corrupt as it looked. Of course, nothing gained through questionable legal means could be printed, but it often lead to legally obtainable proof and no one could ever actually prove it was her because, well, it wasn't always her. As long as it stayed that way, they were all good. “Did it sound like she'd made any progress?”

 

“It's impossible to say,” stated Bruce with a sigh. “She was in her usual babbling Darcy mode.”

 

“Yeah, that makes her pretty hard to follow,” agreed Skye with a chuckle. “You should probably expect to see her again.”

 

“Probably,” sighed Bruce as the door tot he ship dinged. Smiling at whoever had come in, he stood back up and stretched. “Well, back to work I suppose. Have a good day Skye, and the coffee is on the house.”

 

Skye started to object, but a look from the former scientist shut her up with a sigh. Bruce was genuinely nice and frequently refused to allow her to pay for her drinks just because she and Darcy were in the place so much. Then again, he also claimed they kept the place up and running. “Thanks.”

 

Nodding in approval, Bruce started towards the counter as Skye pulled out her phone. She needed to text Darcy and find out what was up because clearly she'd had some kind of breakthrough. Or a nervous breakdown- Skye wasn't really sure which at this point. It could honestly be either.

 

“Bad news?”

 

Skye nearly jumped out of her chair as Grant's voice broke through her thoughts. Craning her head around, she found the man standing beside her chair, smirking. His eyes glinted in amusement, though there was a softness to his expression that made her heart soften. So instead of being annoyed, she set her phone aside and offered him a smile. “Something like that.”

 

“Hopefully it's not too bad,” remarked Grant as he straightened then pointed to her coffee. “Couldn't wait?”

 

“Nah, the owner knows me,” dismissed Skye as she picked up the cup and took a sip. “He brought it over.”

 

“Geez,” laughed Grant, moving around to sit across from her. “How often are you here?”

 

“Enough to keep them in business apparently,” chuckled Skye as she shot off a quick 'hey' to Darcy and shoved her phone back in her pocket. Picking up her drink, she savored the warmth as she took a sip. “You should go get something. Even the decaf is good here and I hate decaf anything.”

 

Chuckling, Grant stood again and stretched his arms. “Alright, any recommendations?”

 

“Their coffee is great,” replied Skye with a grin, fingers brushing her phone worriedly. “You can also just ask Bruce for the special.”

 

“I think coffee will do,” chuckled Grant, heading for the counter.

 

Skye nodded and watched him go for a moment before tugging out her phone. Surprisingly, she had no messages from her friend. However, that didn't mean Darcy wasn't losing her mind. It just meant the other Rising Tide writer wasn't in an easily distracted mood. Without a second thought, she sent a second text. _[Everything good? Bruce said you hit like a hurricane earlier.]_

 

The message had barely sent before her phone buzzed in her hands with a response. _[You're at Tranquil Cup?]_

 

Any response Skye was going to return with was cut off by Grant's reappearance. Tucking her phone back away, Skye offered him a large grin. She could text Darcy later. Right now she had a hot guy sitting across from her and she needed a break from her work. “So what'd you get?”

 

“I'm not sure,” admitted Grant as he offered her his cup for examination. “I just told him to give me whatever he liked best.”

 

Taking his cup, Skye sniffed it once before handing it back. “It's a European trend. Espresso and milk combo. It's pretty good.”

 

“You've had it?” asked Grant as picked up the cup again, wrapping his long fingers around the plant-based material.

 

Skye almost laughed. “I was one of Bruce's guinea pigs when he was playing with it.”

 

Nodding, Grant lifted the cup to his lips and took a careful sip. The way he jerked back and visibly winced almost made Skye laugh. It was only the way that his wince turned into a cringe that kept her from doing so. Mocking him wasn't high on her list of things to do.

 

“Strong,” remarked Grant, clearing his throat as he set his cup aside. “Very strong.”

 

“Yeah,” laughed Skye, offering him her own coffee to wash down the strong taste. “Like I said, I was one of his guinea pigs.”

 

Taking a small gulp of her coffee, he offered the cup back. “Thanks. I'm going to assume you like strong coffee.”

 

“After you've been up for about 36 hours straight, it's your best friend,” confirmed Skye knowingly. Leaning forward a bit, she wiped a drop of foam off Grant's lip with a smirk. “So, is it safe to assume you don't drink coffee often?”

 

“Not really,” admitted Grant quietly, his tongue flicking against the pad of her finger to collect the foam. The brush of his tongue against her thumb was followed by a heated look from him, his eyes flashing in the same way they had when he'd pinned her to the bathroom wall. “Sometimes I do drink coffee in the morning, but it's not really my thing.”

 

“Sometimes like the other morning when I was there?” asked Skye, returning his look with a teasing one of her own. Okay, so the public date was definitely a good call. Somehow, she doubted she'd still be dressed if they were somewhere more private.

 

“Yeah, like that,” confirmed Grant with a chuckle, picking up his coffee and risking another sip. “I had been drinking the previous night though.”

 

“But you weren't drunk, so it doesn't count,” countered Skye with a grin. “You didn't need the coffee to treat a hangover. Admit it, you were trying-”

 

“Skye!” The rapid, frantic shout of her name cut Skye off effectively and sent her head snapping towards the source of the shout. She didn't really have a chance to figure out what was going on though before someone was suddenly beside her, wide and wild blue eyes practically shoved in her line of sight. “There you are!”

 

It took less than a second for Skye to realize it was Darcy who was so badly invading her personal space, not that it really bothered her. Anyone who worked with Darcy got used to having their personal space violated. Actually, that pretty much went for everyone who worked at the Rising Tide offices. No one there was good with personal space.

 

“Thank god I found you,” continued Darcy before Skye had a chance to respond. It didn't even really sound like the other woman took a breath between sentences. “We've got a lead on SW. Quick, I need to get into the senate office video feeds!”

 

“Uh, what?” asked Skye, momentarily lost as her brain rapidly skidded around trying to follow Darcy's nearly nonsensical sentences. “Why do you need Senate office video feeds?”

 

“Because I think SW is sleeping with the head of the oil company that's supporting 224,” explained Darcy eagerly. She nearly bounced on her toes as she finally leaned away from Skye with notable impatience. “If we can prove that, it'll break this thing wide open and completely discredit him!”

 

“Who or what is SW?” asked Grant, raising an eyebrow. He leaned forward a little as he did, though how he didn't look like a shocked fish Skye wasn't sure. Then again, the way Jemma had burst into his bedroom might explain that. “And what is 224?”

 

“SW is shorthand for Senator Christian Ward and 224 is a bill number,” supplied Skye before she turned her attention fully back onto Darcy. “What makes you think he's sleeping with the company's CEO?”

 

“Because it's his MO,” replied Darcy with a snort. “The man practically lives to deceive people.”

 

“It is the kind of thing he'd do,” confirmed Grant in an unhappy tone. His lips thinned out as he pressed them together in a look that was almost disappointed, if not a little sad. “It's too bad- Anna really is very nice. She deserves better.”

 

Skye whipped her head around so fast, she probably gave herself whiplash. The one condolence was the fact Darcy probably did the same. Grant knew the senator's wife? That was like...a godsend for Darcy's research.

 

“You know his wife?” asked Darcy with wide-eyed excitement. She leaned forward as she spoke, half climbing on top of the table to kneel in front of Grant. It was only Skye's quick thinking that moved their coffee out of the way so it didn't end up decorating Darcy's clothes.

 

“Uh...” the clear unease that crossed Grant's face almost made Skye interfere. She really did feel bad for the guy; being in Darcy's focus like that wasn't comfortable. The first time she'd done that to Skye, Skye had nearly climbed a wall to escape. As it was, she had hidden in the server room for the rest of that day. “Well, I don't really know Anna. I mean, I've met her but I don't know her well. I know her husband mo-”

 

“Wait, you know her husband, the senator?” cut in Darcy, her excitement skyrocketing to the point where she was nearly vibrating. “Dude, how well? And would you be willing to answer some questions? I promise to keep your name out of it.”

 

“Out of what?” asked Grant wearily, his expression morphing from uneasy and maybe a little frightened to concerned and weary. “What kind of questions?”

 

“Just an article about his political activities,” replied Darcy, as if the entire article were some fluff piece and not a flaming expose on the man's potentially illegal activities. “So, how well do you know him?”

 

“Um,” gulped Grant, clearly uncomfortable with Darcy's enthusiasm and possibly the question itself. Skye had to admit though, she was curious herself. “He's my brother.”

 

Mentally, Skye cursed and prepared to tackle Darcy if necessary. She knew was would come next: either Darcy would go on a left-wing anti-big business rant or she'd half attack Grant in an attempt to get information out of him. Either way, it wasn't likely to end well.

 

The way Darcy narrowed her eyes told Skye it was probably the former. “Are you close?”  
  


Grant actually snorted. “He's part of the reason I was put in the foster system. I met Anna because he got invited to Thomas' wedding.”

 

“Thomas?” asked Skye, interest piqued. The fact that Grant had been in the system was mentally stored on the back-burner for her to ask about later. She'd been there herself and knew that pain. Thomas sounded like someone from his past though, and she had to admit, she was curious.

 

“My little brother,” explained Grant with a shrug. “We were split up in foster care and when he got married, he wanted his siblings there. He thought having our family, or what remains of it, there would be fun.”

 

“I'm going to assume that was a disaster of epic proportions,” remarked Darcy, an amused smirk tugging at her lips.

 

“Around the time my older brother ended up in the wedding cake, I'm pretty sure that's what he was thinking,” confirmed Grant with a chuckle. The amused grin that was tugging at the corners of his lips said he hadn't minded though.

 

Not that Skye actively noticed that- she was too busy trying to avoid bursting into laughter and failing. It bubbled out of her throat in poorly suppressed giggles. Darcy did the same, knocking into her with a near hysterical sound Skye guessed was at least partly due to a lack of sleep.

 

“Please tell me you have photos,” begged Skye as she finally managed to get her laughter enough under control that she could risk talking. She pushed Darcy upright as she spoke, trying to steady her friend who was still laughing madly. The other girl managed not to fall over again, something Skye took to be a good sign.

 

Grant grinned, leaning forward a little. “What kind of brother would I be if I didn't retain a few embarrassing family photos?”

 

“Any chance I could print a copy?” asked Darcy as her laughter died out somewhat; at least enough for her to get a few comprehensible words out. “It would really bring my article together.”

 

“If I hadn't sworn to Thomas I wouldn't distribute them, I'd say go for it,” replied Grant, offering them an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

 

Darcy sighed dramatically, but nodded in agreement all the same. “Then you'll just have to make it up to Skye by letting me interview you. We can wipe your name from the record, don't worry.”  
  


“Um, could we finish our date first?” asked Grant, glancing apologetically at Skye. The uncomfortable look was back just beneath the apologetic face, though the look he shot her was more sad than actually afraid. The fear was there, but he looked more like he really didn't want to give up the rest of their date for the interview, which was sweet of him when she thought about it. Miles would have jumped at the interview and promised to make it up later. Not that he ever would have but still, it said a lot about Grant that he wanted to finish their date more than be interviewed.

 

Offering him a reassuring smile, Skye stood and stretched out her arms before offering him an indifferent shrug. “She's on a deadline, so you should probably do it now.”

 

The disappointment that crossed Grant's face made her heart melt. “Okay. Uh, should I call later or do you want me to leave you alone?”

 

“Later?” repeated Skye, raising an eyebrow curiously at him. What did he mean, later? “I figured after you finished with Darce, we could go grab dinner or something and finish our date. I don't know about you, but I'd like to keep going unless you want out.” She'd get it if he did, too. Darcy was pretty much a hurricane and the woman was definitely her best friend ever. If he kept seeing her, then he'd keep running into Darcy. It was too much for some people.

 

“Dinner sounds good,” agreed Grant immediately, though his eyes fell to Darcy uncertainly.

 

The brunette just laughed and raised her hands. “Hey, don't look at me. I'm not playing chaperon. Once I have what I need, I'm bolting back to the offices to finish this article before my boss has my head. Peter might seem laid back, but his snark gets nasty when he's pissed. It's not common, but it happens.”

 

Chuckling, Skye reached down to touch Grant's shoulder, though she kinda got a little distracted by the muscle she could feel under his shirt. Damn, the man was ripped. “See? It'll just be us. Now, I'm gonna grab Darce some coffee before she collapses from sheer exhaustion and suffers death by sarcasm. Just get the basics out of the way until I get back. I don't want to miss this.”

 

“Alright,” agreed Grant wearily, his eyes sliding over to Darcy with a look that said he was rethinking the whole thing. Darcy's half-crazed, sleep deprived look probably wasn't helping that, but there wasn't much that could be done. She wasn't going to sleep without someone drugging her until this article was finished.

 

Patting his shoulder, she turned towards the counter before Grant could say anything. Not that he was probably going to; his eyes were locked on Darcy and he almost looked like he expected her to bite. Actually, tazing was a bigger concern where Darcy was concerned, but she couldn't imagine the reporter tazing Grant for anything. The only person she actually recalled hearing about Darcy tazing was her roommate's boyfriend, Thor. And that was because she'd been woken up in the middle of the night when the man accidentally opened her door trying to get back to Jane's room.

 

Grant would be okay with Darcy for a few minutes. Probably. It was Darcy, more likely than not she wouldn't eat him alive. Otherwise, the other woman would owe her big time. Not that she didn't for interrupting their date, but Darcy wouldn't want to owe her more. Besides, the man's brother was a senator, this couldn't be his first time dealing with reporters and Darcy was a hell of a lot nicer than most of them. He'd be just fine.

 

\--------------------------------------

 

Okay, fine definitely wasn't the word to describe the situation before her. Seriously, she'd been gone less than five minutes. It didn't take that long to make straight espresso with a little bit of sugar and a lot of whipped cream (about half the cup was little more than fluffy white stuff, but Darcy wouldn't complain about the sugar- fifty fifty caffeine to sugar ratio seemed to be the girl's ideal). How was it Grant had gone from looking uneasy but relaxed to almost sitting on the back of his chair in horror?

 

“Darce, I think you need to back off a little,” remarked Skye as casually as she could, setting the other girl's caffeinated beverage-snack before her and drawing back quickly. Darcy had accidentally bitten a few people in her rush for caffeine before. “When they start climbing on the back of the chair, you're pushing too hard.”

 

Blinking up at Skye, Darcy leaned back a little from where she'd somehow ended up kneeling on the coffee table and tilted her head slightly. Then she spotted the coffee and Skye was quickly forgotten as her friend practically dove for the caffeinated beverage, gulping down half of it at once. The crazed look had faded a little when she lowered the cup a moment later. It helped that she also climbed off the coffee table and settled back into the chair where Skye had been previously sitting.

 

Grant settled a little bit back into his own chair, though he was still watching Darcy like he expected her to jump at him. After what Skye had just seen, she wasn't surprised. If it had taken any longer to get the other woman's coffee, Darcy might have actually _jumped_ on Grant. 

 

“Mm, caffeinated nectar of the gods,” hummed Darcy, her eyes blinking open slowly. When she seemed to refocus on Grant a second later, it was noticeably calmer than before. Well, for about half a second. Then, Darcy's eyes hardened into the reporter mode Skye knew all too well and the other woman set her coffee aside to lean forward. “Alright dude, let's talk.”

 

“Do I need a shield before we start?” asked Grant wearily, glancing at Skye.

 

Rolling her eyes, Skye clapped him on the shoulder gently. “Don't worry, I'll protect you. Though for the record, I'm pretty sure you could take her.”

 

A slight smirk sliding over his lips as he suddenly leaned towards her, wiggling his eyebrows slightly. “If you want to sit in my lap, I'm not going to complain.”

 

“Oh god not,” groaned Darcy, covering her eyes in mock horror. “Dude, keep it PG. There are kids present.”

 

“What kids?” snorted Skye, glancing at her friend. “The only person I see is a sleep-deprived reporter I dubiously call a friend.”

 

“I'm a child at heart,” objected Darcy as she did her best to look offended. Which failed pretty rapidly when she suddenly fell into a fit of near-hysterical giggling. Yeah, she was definitely way sleep deprived.

 

Clapping her hands once, Skye moved to sit on the table between Darcy and Grant, just to be safe. “Alright Darce, you need sleep sometime in the next hour, so lets get this interview underway and make it fast.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” agreed Darcy, waving her hand a bit impatiently. “Sleep is important, blah blah blah.”

 

Rolling her eyes a little, Skye chose not to argue. Instead, she folded her arms over her chest and gave her friend an impatient look. Seriously, if Darcy was going to interrupt her date with work, the girl could at least try to go as fast as possible!

 

“Don't give me that look,” stated Darcy with a groan. “I'm starting, I'm starting.”

 

Dragging out her phone, Darcy flipped it open and set it to record before pulling out a notebook and offering Grant a sharkish grin. “Alright, let's get this show going so my friend can go screw your brains out in the bathroom.”

 

Grant actually choked a little, glancing at Skye wearily. “Do you make a habit of screwing men in bathrooms?”

 

“Only hot bar owners as revenge against asshole ex-boyfriends,” stated Skye with a smirk. “I.e., you.” Glancing back at Darcy, she leveled a look at her friend.

 

Darcy held up her hands in defense and cleared her throat. “Alright, let's start. Now, what can you tell me about Senator Ward's trustworthiness in your opinion.”

 

“Are you asking if I trust him or if he can be trusted?” countered Grant, raising his eyebrow a little.

 

“Both,” replied Darcy, clicking her pen open and posing it over her notepad. There was an eagerness to her stance that was detracted from only slightly by the marked way her pen twitched in her fingers.

 

Leaning back, Grant glanced at Skye before he shrugged a little. “Honestly, I don't trust Mayna- er, Senator Ward as far as I can throw him. I don't know if he's gotten better, but when we were kids he was a special kind of asshole. There's a reason my brother and I got thrown into the foster system and he didn't.”

 

Both of Darcy's eyebrows shot up in surprise, even as a grin slowly crawled across her face. “Really? Wanna elaborate on that one?”  
  


“Not really something I want in print,” stated Grant, his fingers threading together in front of him. “Let's just say that Senator Ward was an asshole of epic proportions and leave it at that.”

 

“Okay...” agreed Darcy, though she didn't look particularly happy about dropping the foster care angle. If Senator Ward was the reason Ward had been sent to foster care, it could actually get the article picked up mainstream and bring everything the man did under heavy scrutiny. However, none of that was worth putting Grant through a lot of discomfort. They wouldn't do that to him. Well, Skye wouldn't let Darcy do that to him. It was too far just to bring the man down- they could do that without subjecting Grant to a great deal of personal pain.

 

Jotting down a few notes, Darcy tapped the edge of her notebook before looking back up at Grant. “So, do you think the American people can trust him?”

 

“I don't know,” admitted Grant with a shrug, rubbing his hands together, eyes focusing on something on the table. “Personally, I don't. I've seen him manipulate people- I grew up with it. He was selfish before and I doubt he's changed. I haven't spoken to him in years either though, so maybe he's fine now. Maybe Anna somehow turned him into a real boy.”

 

“What, instead of a puppet?” joked Darcy, though she continued to scribble remarks down rapidly and didn't even bother to look up as she spoke.

 

“Puppet is a good analogy, though I'm pretty sure puppets have more personality,” countered Grant with a snort. “It might actually be an insult to puppets everywhere.”

 

Darcy broke into full-blown laughter at that, her head bowing dangerously close to the table as she dropped it down to rest on her arms. Her laughter bordered on hysterical for a minute before she managed to compose herself enough to sit up and wipe the tears from her eyes. “Oh, I like this one, Skye. So much better than the asshole from before.”

 

“Glad you approve of my dating choices,” muttered Skye, shaking her head as she reached forward and shut off the recorder. “And on that note, you need to go sleep. Now. I'll call Peter and get you an extension; if a snarky remark about a puppet is enough to make you laugh this hard, you need sleep. Immediately.”

 

“But-” started Darcy, only to stop as a yawn broke free from her throat.

 

“Darce, you need to sleep,” repeated Skye, shaking her head a bit. “I'll talk to Peter. You go home and crash. I can give you a lift if you need one.”

 

“Nah, I'll grab a cab,” assured Darcy, shaking her head a little and collecting her notebook and recorder from the table. There should probably have been some defeat in her motions, but she honestly looked too tired to really care. “I'm not gonna cock-block your boy like that.”

 

“Uh, thank you?” asked Grant uncertainly, his brow furrowing slightly. “If you need a lift though, it isn't a problem. I can give you one or Skye can.”

 

“I can get a cab,” repeated Darcy, waving her hand slightly in their direction dismissively. “Just do me a favor Skye.”

 

“Sure, what's up?” agreed Skye immediately, looking up at her partner in crime.

 

“Make sure you pin his ass to the bed and ride him,” stated Darcy with a grin as she spun towards the door. “He looks like he can keep up.”

 

“Go sleep Darce!” repeated Skye with a groan, covering her eyes with her hand in mortification. She loved Darcy, she really did, but damnit, she really didn't need that image in her head. It was already hard enough not to jump the man and the thought of him spread out on the bed below her was not helping.

 

“So, I'm guessing you didn't mention that we already did that,” remarked Grant, his hand resting on her arm for a second before he gently tugged her hand away from her face. His cheeks were a little red, but he looked more amused than mortified, which was probably good for Skye. Or, well, at least it meant he probably wasn't going to bolt. “I can't say I'd mind doing it again, though.”

 

“I thought we were trying to avoid jumping each other on the first date,” remarked Skye as she stood, pulling Grant up with her. “In fact, I'm pretty sure I promised I could get through a date without pinning you to a wall.”

 

“Then maybe I should pin _you_ to a wall,” suggested Grant, a smirk tugging at his lips that matched the glint in his eyes. “I wouldn't mind.”

 

“If that's what we're doing, let's get out of here first,” insisted Skye with a glance towards the counter. “I like Bruce and getting banned from here is kinda not an option for me.”

 

“Deal,” agreed Grant. His fingers threaded through hers as he pulled her towards the front door of the shop, pushing the door open with his shoulder as he lead her out onto the sidewalk. “So, your place or mine?”

 

“Mine is ten minutes away,” stated Skye, biting her lip slightly. Taking Grant home would be....complicated. Technically, she didn't live with her dad or her brother. The fact that her apartment was directly above her dad's and that her brother lived across the hall didn't _really_ qualify as living together after all. It still made bringing guys home awkward though. “Where's yours from here?”

 

“Same,” admitted Grant as he pushed a hand through his hair before tugging Skye towards his car. “However, I know for a fact that my apartment is abandoned and, based on what Melinda said, I don't really want to meet your dad while we're heading up to have sex. At least, I don't want that to be the first time I meet him.”

 

“That's probably not a good idea,” agreed Skye as she dropped his hand to pull on the jacket he'd lent her. It hadn't been that chilly earlier, but the temperature felt like it was dropping. “So, want me to follow you in my car?”

 

“You have to call your friend's boss and get her an extension right?” asked Grant, his eyes darkening as they traced over his jacket. It almost made Skye smirk- apparently he had a thing for her in his clothes.

 

“Yeah, but it shouldn't take that long to talk Peter into giving her an extension,” assured Skye as she slid up to stand closer to Grant. Why did that look make her want to jump on him? She'd seen other guys look at her that way and it had never made her want to pin them to the nearest flat surface before.

 

“Then why don't we take my car and you can call him while we're driving to my apartment,” suggested Grant as one of his hands slid against her hip. “That way if we get distracted, your friend won't get screwed over.”

 

Nodding slowly, Skye slid one of her hands up his arm to rest against the side of his neck, two fingers on her other hand threading through one of his belt loops. “That would probably be smart. We do kinda get distracted a lot.”

 

“You're really distracting,” muttered Grant, the hand against her hip tightening. “Skye, I'm going to pin you to the wall of the coffee shop if we don't get moving and I don't really think your friend will like that.”

 

“Bruce has seen worse,” dismissed Skye with a sigh, even as she stepped away. Bruce wouldn't be mad at her, but it probably wouldn't help his business any if she made out with Grant against the store window. “So, where's this car of yours?”

 

\------------------------------------------------

 

“Grant!” groaned Skye, her back hitting the wall as Grant kicked the front door of his apartment shut. “You sure everyone's out?”

 

“Positive,” assured Grant a second before he gently nipped at her throat. “Trip might be home, but he'll be passed out in his room and May is either working out, with your dad, or sleeping.”

 

“And your sister?” asked Skye, gasping when one of Grant's hands slid under her shirt.

 

Grant's fingers slipped under the waistband of her jeans, brushing along her lower back before sliding around to brush against her curls. “Work.”

 

His lips were on hers before she could ask any other questions, fingers completely distracting her from whatever further concerns she had. Not that she was really going to complain. It wasn't like her apartment, where her father or brother might just walk in. Neither man really understood the meaning of the word 'privacy'. Or 'boundaries'.

 

Skye could feel Grant pulling her shirt up, his fingers brushing over her sides and slipping along the bottom edge of her bra. The tips traced the edge, sliding just slightly under to follow the lower curve of her breast and damnit, was he trying to drive her crazy? “Grant....”

 

“Hey kiddo! Finally get ho-oh fuck!”

 

Grant's shout of 'shit!' followed by his body rapidly pressing against Skye's to block her body from view was enough to kill the mood thoroughly. That they were being interrupted again was almost enough to make her laugh. Seriously, who had their date interrupted twice?

 

“Dad, what are you doing here?!” asked Grant, his voice markedly higher than Skye had ever heard it go. Glancing around his shoulder, she spotted an older man with a military style hair cut standing in the doorway to the living room of the apartment. He was staring at the ceiling rather than them, apparently having the good graces to glance away. There was an amused smirk on his face though, even with it tilted up and his eyes glued on the ceiling light.

 

“I just stopped by to see how your date went,” stated Grant's dad, his eyes never leaving the ceiling. “You said you wanted to talk with her, so I didn't think you'd be bringin' her home.”

 

“Dad,” groaned Grant, even as he turned back to Skye and helped her adjust her clothes before stepping away with an apologetic look. “You could have come by tomorrow. We're getting lunch with Jemma, remember?”

 

“Well, since you came to me rather than your sister for advice, I thought you might not want to discuss it in front of her,” stated his dad with a shrug. “Your girl decent? My neck is starting to kink.”

 

“Yeah,” confirmed Grant with a sigh, mouthing 'sorry' to Skye as he stepped away and turned to the man in question. “Did Jasper come with you or is it just you?”

 

“Just me. Jasper said, and I quote, 'give your son some privacy, otherwise I'm going to end up helping him change his locks',” explained his dad with a shrug, rolling his head on his shoulders and rubbing the back of his neck. “Starting to think he was right.”

 

“Jasper is your better half,” remarked Grant with a shake of his head before taking Skye's hand and leading her towards the man.

 

“Not denying that one,” stated his dad with one last shoulder roll before holding his hand out to Skye. “Sorry for interrupting your date, I really didn't think Grant would be bringin' you home. He seemed pretty intent on trying to get to know you out of the sack.”

 

“Dad,” groaned Grant, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. Taking a deep breath, he dropped his hand and gestured towards the man who'd interrupted them. “Skye, this is John Garrett, the man who adopted Jemma and I.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” greeted John, offering his hand. Skye shook it once, brow furrowing slightly. That name was familiar, she'd swear by it. She was about 98% sure it hadn't been Grant who'd mentioned it, either. She couldn't place where she'd heard it though. “Gotta say, I see why Grant's been tongue tied over you.”

 

“Uh, thanks?” asked Skye, completely unsure how to respond to that. She didn't exactly look her best and she was pretty sure he might have caught a peek while they were making out. “So, you're Grant's dad?”

 

“Adoptive dad, but yeah,” confirmed John, glancing over at his son. “Anyway Grant, I'm gonna head home and leave you guys in peace. I'll pick ya up tomorrow for lunch.” Pausing, he turned to Skye then and added: “You can join us if you want. Trip's crashed family lunch more than once.”

 

“I'd have to check with work, see what's up,” replied Skye uncertainly, glancing up at Grant. “There's some deadlines coming up and stuff, so I need to make sure no one needs me throwing in overtime.”

 

“Well, if you're still here at lunch tomorrow, you should come,” stated John simply, waving his hand around casually as he stepped around them and headed for the door. “Anyway, I'll get outta your hair. Have a good rest of your date.”

 

“Thanks,” sighed Grant in clear relief. “Night Dad.”

 

“Night,” returned John as he opened the door, turning back to them. “It was nice to meet you, Skye. Hopefully I'll see you around.” Then he was gone, the door shut and the sound of the lock clicking back into place echoing in the entrance hall.

 

“So, your dad has a key to your place too, huh?” asked Skye once the click had stopped echoing through the small space.

 

“No, he doesn't,” replied Grant simply, shaking his head as he took Skye's hand again. “Don't ask how he got in. I've changed the locks and he still gets in somehow. I've just given up.”

 

“Wow, and I thought my dad was bad,” remarked Skye with a smile, the anxiety from Grant's dad walking in on them wearing off. “So, bed?”

 

Both of Grant's eyebrow's rose sharply. “You still want to continue?”

 

“Dude, I've been good about not jumping you so far,” stated Skye simply, using his hand to tug him towards his bedroom. His dad showing up might have killed the mood for that moment, but it hadn't for the night and she wanted to continue this. “Your dad walking in just means we're doing this in your room, where your family and May can't walk in on us. Your door locks right?”

 

“Definitely,” confirmed Grant as he tugged on her arm hard enough to pull her up against his body. His lips were on hers in the next second, even as he backed her towards his bedroom, fingers sliding under her legs and lifting her up. Her legs locked around his hips as her arms flew around his neck, the fingers of one hand diving into his short hair.

 

The hands on her legs shifted up to cup her ass, fingers squeezing once before he released one hand to open the door. How he managed to do that without dropping her, she wasn't sure, but she was definitely grateful not to be sprawled across the floor. The time it happened with Miles had been enough. She didn't normally like guys carrying her around period, but something about Grant made it easy to believe he wouldn't drop her.

 

Shifting in an attempt to get a better hold, Skye ground her hips against Grant's as he made his way to the bed, causing the man to stumble slightly with a groan. “Skye, if you want us to make it to the bed, you need to not do that while I'm trying to walk.”

 

“Do what?” murmured Skye innocently, her lips whispering over his. Half a second later, she ground her hips against his again, this time intentionally. “You mean that?”  
  


Again, Grant stumbled and groaned, his fingers tightening around her ass and holding her there as his hips pressed back against hers. “Yes.”

 

“Well, then get us to the bed,” countered Skye, nails grazing the back of is neck. “I promised Darcy I'd ride you hard and I'm not about to break _that_ promise.”

 

“Whatever you want,” murmured Grant before he suddenly bent forward, half dropping her onto his bed. He was crawling up over her a second later, his body covering hers as his lips pressed against her throat once more. They trailed from there to her jaw, sliding down along the edge to seal against her lips less than a second later.

 

Skye didn't waste any time, hooking her leg around his waist and using that to roll them over. Grant didn't resist, dragging her along until she sat on top, straddling his waist. His pupils were blown when Skye leaned back a moment later, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his eyes scorched her body. “You're overdressed.”

 

“So help me with that,” countered Skye, her fingers teasing at the buttons of his shirt. “And I'll help you.”

 

“Then you'll ride me like a horse?” teased Grant, his fingers already pulling the hem of her shirt up, brushing along her sides as they went.

 

“That's the plan,”confirmed Skye, grabbing the edges of her shirt and tugging it off. She watched Grant's eyes lock onto her chest as soon as her shirt was off, his hands sliding up her stomach to trace the edges of her bra. “Think you can keep up?”

 

“Hell yes,” chuckled Grant, the mischievous glint from before making the heat in his eyes all the stronger. “Skye, I'm going to give you a ride like you've never had in your life.”


End file.
